UPI: RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said that he never claimed that UPI will always be free. He clarified that its cost will have to be borne by someone, be it the government, the bank or the user. At present, the government is giving subsidy, but this model is not sustainable in the long term.
Crores of people across the country make payments through Unified Payment Interface (UPI) every day. Sometimes at tea stalls, sometimes on big shopping websites. But now a big question has come up regarding this free service. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra has clearly said that he never claimed that UPI will always be free. He said that this facility has a cost, and someone will have to bear it.
Free service, but who will pay the price?
In the press conference, Sanjay Malhotra said, “Who will bear the cost of UPI is important. But more important than that is that people keep making digital payments.” He also added that if the UPI model has to be made sustainable for a long time, then it has to be decided who will bear that expense – the government, the bank or the user?
Till now the government is bearing the expenses!
At present, the government is bearing the cost of operating UPI. Banks or app providers are not running it at their own expense. But the RBI Governor says that this system cannot last for long.
UPI’s record breaking growth
In June 2025 itself, 18.4 billion transactions have been done through UPI, that is, transactions worth thousands of crores every month. This is an increase of 32% compared to last year. But a sustainable business model is necessary to maintain such a large volume.
The RBI governor has already said that it is not possible to continue with the zero fee model forever. In July, he had said that the government is giving subsidy, which has given a boost to Digital India. But going forward, either the users may have to pay a small fee, or a new system will have to be created.
